US2604056A

US2604056A - Chewing gum manufacture

Info

Publication number: US2604056A
Application number: US8539A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mahle Louis William
Original assignee: FRANK H FLEER CORP
Current assignee: FRANK H FLEER Corp
Priority date: 1948-02-16
Filing date: 1948-02-16
Publication date: 1952-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 1969-07-22

Description

L. W. MAHLE l CHEWING GUM MANUFACTURE July 22, 1952 3 Sheets-Shee.

nmwdm mAmmmS Filed Feb. 16, 1948 M M m L u. w U O L V. E N m T T A.

ZHQ M/Aarwbw ZD H DMW@ En@ July 22 1952 w. MAHLE 2,604,056

CHEWING GUM MANUFACTURE Filed Feb. 16, 1948 3 Shets-Sheez. 2

FIGLZ.

l Jimi@ im l J LOUIS WILLIAM MAHLE ATTORNEY July 22, 1952 w. MAHLE 2,604,056

CHEWING GUM MANUFACTURE Filed Feb. 16, 1948 s sheets-sneu s 3mm. LOUIS WILLIJZM MHLE Y A TTORNEY ""nnallaminate l ."thatitheMustin Apatent depends :on three separate Patented July 22`,` T1952 j UNITED Y Frank H.' Fleerl .Corporation,vv Phladelphia`.,'-Pa.,

Ya corporation @Delaware #Application February 16, is4s,f=seriai-No.s;539

f claims;

'-Thisi-invention lrelates :to a .new and 'improved Y apparatuslfor:preparing laminatedchewing gum andmare particularlyfzto -a novel :process andai)- eparatus; forwprodu'cingr` a? laminated' chewing .gum of the stickvarietylmade vof aninnerlayer of candy 'orflike' confectionerymaterial and two .ad- 4Vhering -outer l-ayerslof chewinggum,l or of an in- 1ner-layerof. chewing gum and two r adhering 'outer :layers of candy.

l Laminated chewinggumfofithe vforegoing char- .act'erwor so-called chewing 'gum fsandwichesf Sarenet broadly' new` seg-the lbasic :concept being disclosedai-n the-11.2 S.-"patents' Vto Gilbert .B. Mustin Nos. 1,771,506, 1,771,981and13715982, all issued oniJuly 29,1930. .The'flrst of these `patents di'sclosesandclainis a method forfmakingchewing sandwiches wherein. there' isi-provided l an inlner layerloff candy andwtwo-outerzlayers'of chewing gumwhile i-thetwo `latter patents show rprocesses forlpreparing laminated 'chewing gum iwherein the f-ir'iner'layerllis' composed -voit' chewingfgum #materlalfand the'two-outer layersiaremadefc candy.

VWhilefthe present. inventionv is' t'o be described 'with-'respecteto l-a `laminate having an inner Vlayer ff candy1land-*two'-outer layers -of vchewing gum, lit-"is' toY be l -understoodrthat the-.invention also lcontemplatesthe production lof a` 'laminate-in "which :these layersare reversed,-solto-speak. In "other-flwords, 'the apparatus of fthe invention 1 is perfectly capable offproducing. a laminate having raminner?V layerof lgum'ffand twoouter layers yof candy. Y y

-'Thei disadvantages of the process and-apparatus fidisclosure, 1is obviously prophetic at most and 'invvolvesnothingmoren'or less than the'basio'c'on- `'cept lof producing; the three layenprodu'ct. The 'schematic' and "dia'grarnmatic'y apparatus lshowing 'i'.frthe Mustinl ptentf'drawing's serve 'only to em- ;'phasize' this. "The: vgunrand 4candy layers'are, -in reality.' rriei'ely pulled through a series of-5 rolls "which"would4 result in layers vf vvarying thick-e A"nesses :"m'aking for` a completely Vnon-uniform Furthermore, it will vloe* noted nate having-1an.: inner layer :,of; candy or. ,likeconrfectionery and- Ztwoouter layers-.off chewing gum, or .the reversa; as previously pointed out/,wherein the iforegoinguzandaother inherent? disadvantages ""6 :of ,theprocessaandsschematic:apparatus of-.Mustn Patent .No. 1,771,506` are; entirely .obviated ,.It is 1a.,..further1object .to provide a: novel zarrangernent vof .efficient `apparatus'"unitseflective to..produce av chewing gunrflaminateof the fore- 10 .going character.

' Reference now :hadU to "the `drawings,infwhich. 1 i .A

"Fig. I isla sidefelevation of {the-apparatusshow- -ing the f .principal zorrressential :iparts thereof; in

'cooperative relation;

fiEig; aside elevation of the series of sheetsize-reducing rolls which Iare positioned 1immedia'tely ytothe "left of,.and .whichoonstitute.aconltinuation;l of,li'the apparatus shownifin "Fig: 1

`Fig. 3 is-faiside"elevation'finusectioniof thezgum Eig-4. isa vfrontielevationlofthegum eiitruder;

Fig 5 is `"atf-ront 'eleva-tion -I of M.the lcandy: LTextrudelg.;

fFig. '.8f isV la l section taken along f line ri-i8 lof :accompanying `3o Fig. 5.

.Referringnowlto Figs; 1f andzrof. the' drawings, illustrating f the :general .combination .of elements making up the -apparatusofl1thei..presentinven Jtion, chewing gum lof ''de'sired compositionY and `consistency issupplied-manua1ly1to 1a-"hopper l ftruder, Vfrom. :either side-of the -advancingggum layers 4 and 1, is fed manually candy or other reduce the thickness ofthe laminate at this point to about one-third of its originalguncompressed thickness. From the pressure rolls I4, I5, the4 D thus initially reduced laminate isledjfont in-i,v 'Y

clined endless belt I6 Vto be fed into Ya series of sizing or reducing rolls. Y

It is to be noted that the outer surface ofthe Aiisl lower gum layer 1 is dusted from bin I1 andthat t the outer surface of upper gum layer 4 is dusted from bin I8, to prevent adherence to the belts vor rolls with which these surfaces come' in contact'. There is .nordusting of the inner 'surface' of the" upperand lower Vgum layers because itis essential that the' candy layer adhere i'lrmly'to the two outer gum layers. It goes without saying that no dusting medium is used on either side of the candy layer for the same reason. Powdered corn starch or mixtures of corn starch and sugar are used as dustingY media. Obviously, any other edible powder or finely ground material could be employed. Any dust which does not adhere to the gum layers falls down into'dustretriever I9 and may be re-.used in the process; Before the gum-candy laminate proceeds to the sizing or rea ducing rolls, a portion of the dust is removed by Arollsfas shownin Fig.`2, is conventional equipment and no claim is made to novelty therein. As shown; however, these reducing rolls are Veective to reduce the diameter of the laminate, lstep by step, to a sheet of-gum of thedesired thickness.

The sheet is then scored and formed into sticks Vor slabs of gum 'according to conventional procedure. l.

In Fig. 3 is shown the gum extruder comprising hoppenl, extrusion chamber 26, anda' pairof -complementarywormsor screws 21. Bolted onto [the forward Yend of the extrusion chamber 26- is a double .apertured plate 28. The apertured plate 28 is divided to provide two orice slots ZSand 30 which are adjustable, in width through vertically movableslottedelements 3! and'32 which are held .by means ofsetsof upper bolts 33 and lower bolts 34. I t isv mbe-noted that in order to reduce the .width Vof Athe -upper or lower `orices it is merely necessary tovraise elementr3l andv lowerrelementar. Y

Thus, either upper orlower slots maybe varied Yindesendenuy of the other. VBy this means, the

intermediatev candy layer may be brought nearer .or further from either surface ofthe nal lami- .nated sheet as desired. Or, due t0 different extrusion rates, of the upper and lower gum sheets.

it may be necessaryiat times to open or close one or the other to maintain the intermediate candy layer exactly in the middle of the nishedsheet.

Complete liberty in extrusion rates can thus be "maintained Y. I YNPlate 28 is provided with an electric heating vab element not shown but generally designated by electric conductors 35 which is placed in operation when the process is started in order to produce a smoother sheet of laminated gum. After the machine has been running for one-half hour or longer, the heat of friction in the extruder wil1 sufce to keepthe gumY smooth and the heater may be shut offiQ-k l. f

The candy extruder illustrated^in Figs. .5, 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings is a very important feature of the present invention not only in and of itself,

' but inthe way in which it is positioned with respectt'o the/upper and lower gum layers. ReferringV to the foregoingffgures inV detail, the candy extruderwhich is'designated generally at I0, is made up of' two

identical hoppers

36 and 36 throughwhichthercandy or lconfectionery is fed manually. The Acandy falls into an extruding chamberV 31 by gravity and is forced to the center thereof, from each end, by a series of screws or

worms

38,39,74ll and 4I driven from appropriate gear boxes 48 and 49.0f conventional type. Inter.- mediate the

hoppers

36, and 31 is an orifice 42 parallel to the axis of-'theworms and provided with vertically adjustable slotted plates 43,' 44. -As in the case ofthe gum'extruder, thesizeof the orifice 42 is varied at will by. sliding the plates 43 "and 44 upwardly or downwardly and holdingV them in place by a series of bolts 45 and 45.,1Worms 4!) and 4I Vare shorter,l of course, than worms 38 and 3S so that the compressed candy mayphave -free and unimpeded accesslto` orifice 42.Y Orifice 42 is positioned directly in line withl the Vtwo ade vaneinggumfsheets. 'g ..5 .311

By virtue. of fthe. construction". f.,this candy extruder Ill whereby candyiszfed'into;eitherside thereof, is propelled Vfrom both `'sidesin thelextrusion chamber; 31k tdzthe .center thereof: and is then forced out aterightfangles. toetheextrufsion .chamber 31 and. the worms working therein, it is possible to* position thisl candy extruderas shown iin Fig-i1l without thenecessity of spreadring upper gum layer 4 and lower gum layer 1 Vaninordinate distance I one from thel other. By

providing the particular candy extrudervshown, in'othenwords, ,it is possibleto feedthe candy into hoppers 36 and 3'!l with great yfacility from .both sidesof the layers Yofngum without-,Anterfering in any way with the passage of. thea-.two gum strips thrugh the apparatus. .S'tated Ydif.-

Vferently, since hoppers 3|6 and .131,are positioned over the apparatus shown schematically inY MustinPatent No. 1,771,506. t Y

In order to obtainY proper coordination'fo'f .the gum and candy sheets, variable ,speed ldrives'V and V (Fig. 1) suchuas conventional Link-belt variable speed` mechanism ory Reevesdrivesfraare provided to enable thespeeds of v4the, components to be varied at will. Thus,'--ifrtooinuchgurn is being extruded,variable speed drive V may be regulated to reduce the speed of the extruderworms, thus diminishing the amount of 'gum' deliveredto the extruder orifices. -Since gum is extensible'in "diierent source. than that vSupplievto, variable rspeed 'drive .Thus -.-.th.ey; workentirely .independently of each;otherimechanicalln Itisalsp ateniese candy vary greatly in their tensile strength at different temperatures, it is very important to provide for the foregoing variable speed drive to adjust for such variations.

While the foregoing description is directed to the production of a three layer laminate, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such a laminate. The invention contemplates,

, in other words, laminates having any desired number of layers of gum and/or candy. Furthermore, the invention includes the production of all-gum laminates to the exclusion of candy -lay-V ers. There may be provided a laminate made up of alternate layers of different types of gum or gums of different colors or flavors. As a further modification or alternative procedure, the :final laminate, instead of being produced in the conventional stick form, may be, through the use of appropriate scoring knives, produced in the form of pillows or in the shape of the wellknown candy-coated units, in which case the gum may be on the inside of the unit l'with candy coating on the outside or, conversely, the candy may be inside with a gum coating on the outside.

1t is also within the scope of the invention to provide an all-candy laminate. Thus, candy of one type could be extruded through the double extruder and candy of a diierent type through the single extruder.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for preparing laminated stick chewing gum comprising a single means for simultaneously extruding under pressure two superimposed spaced fiat strips of chewing gum, means for elevating and advancing the upper strip of gum, means for lowering and advancing the lower strip of gum, means in advance of said gum extruding means and between said elevating and advancing means for extruding under pressure a single flat strip of candy in the same direction as the advancing strips of gum, said last named extruding means having two feed hoppers, each positioned beyond the running confines of all of the advancing strips, said last named extruding means also having screw means therein for receiving candy fed. into both of the hoppers, forcing it from the bottom of the hoppers to the center of the extrudingr means and thence through a slot at right angles to the screw means, and means for joining the three strips to form a laminate.

2. An apparatus for preparing laminated stick chewing gum comprising a -single means for simultaneously extruding under pressure two superimposed spaced flat. stripsiof chewing gum, endless belt means for elevating and advancing the upper strip of gum, endless belt means for lowering and advancing and then raising and advancing the lower strip of gum, means in advance of said gum extruding means and between said endless belt means for extruding under pressure a single flat strip of candy inthe same direction as the advancing strips of gum, said last named extruding means having two feed hoppers, each positioned beyond the running conlines of all lo! #the ladvaningfis'tiipa said last namedfextrudingmeansalso-lhavingrscrew means therein for receiving candy fedi-into both "of vthe hoppers, forcingfit-ffrom-thebottomf the hoppers to the 'cntrofthe' itii'dingmeans and thencthrough a slot at rightfangles to the-'screw d means for rjoiriingthe threef strips v to laminatdfstick rigf'fgim-comprising fsf l l l'siriultane"o'sly extruding tnder pressure ftwo superimposed spaced iiat strips of candy, means for elevating and advancing the upper strip of candy, means for lowering and advancing the lower strip of candy. means in advance of said'- candy extruding means and between said elevating. and advancing means for extruding under pressure a single fiat strip of chewing gum in the same direction as the advancing strips of candy, said last named extruding means having two feed hoppers, each positioned beyond the running confines of all of the advancing strips, said last named extruding means also having screw means therein for receiving gum fed into both of the hoppers, forcing it from the bottom of the hoppers to the center of the extruding means and thence through a slot at right angles to the screw means, and means for joining the three strips to form a laminate.

4. An apparatus for preparing laminated stick chewing gum comprising a single means for simultaneously extruding under pressure two superimposed spaced flat strips of candy, endless belt means for elevating and advancing the upper strip of candy, endless belt means for lowering and advancing and then raising and advancing the lower strip of candy, means in advance of said candy extruding means and lbetween said endless belt means for extruding under pressure a single flat strip of chewing gum in the same direction as the advancing strips of candy. said last named extruding means having two feed hoppers, each positioned beyond the running confines of all of the advancing strips, said last named extruding means also having screw means therein for receiving gum fed into both of the hoppers, forcing it from the bottom of the hoppers to the center of the extruding means and thence through a slot at right angles to the screw means, and means for Joining the three strips to form a laminate.

5. An apparatus for preparing laminated stick chewing gum comprising a single means for simultaneously extruding under pressure two superimposed'spaced flat strips of chewing gum of onel type, means for elevating and advancing the upper strip of gum, means for lowering and advancing the lower strip of gum, means in advance of said gum extruding means and between said elevating and advancing means for extruding under pressure a single fiat strip of chewing gum of a second type in the same direction as the advancing spaced strips of gum, said last named extruding means having two feed hoppers, each positioned beyond the running contines of all of the advancing strips, said last named extruding means also having screw means therein for receiving gum fed into both of the hoppers, forcing it from the bottom of the hoppers to the center of the extruding means and thence through a slot at right angles to the screw means. and means for joining the three strips to form a laminate.

` LOUIS WILLIAM MAI-ILE.

(References on following Pue)